


Someone to You

by gendryas



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Banter, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fluff, Slow Burn, Smut, gendry is a little asshole, no lannister vs stark beef
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 23:58:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19095601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gendryas/pseuds/gendryas
Summary: After her parents untimely deaths, Arya Stark moves back to her childhood home for the summer, where she immediately butts heads with the estate’s prickly caretaker.





	Someone to You

**Author's Note:**

> this first chapter took me a whole week of staying up until 2am and constantly rewriting what i have bc i hated everything.

⠀⠀ It was safe to say that, despite her intense love for her family, Arya Stark was quite independent. For as long as she could remember, she absolutely loathed the idea of people helping her—she wanted everything done on her own terms. She refused to let her parents pay her Uni tuition and she didn't want to trouble them with any of her bills. Ned and Catelyn never thought it was a hassle to help their children, but nevertheless, Arya refused their help every time it was offered. She had one goal: make her parents proud—and she definitely thought the easiest way to accomplish her goal was by showing her parents how strong, responsible, and independent she had become.

⠀⠀ The youngest Stark daughter also had a strange propensity for hiding her feelings from the rest of the world. When her first boyfriend dumped her, she didn't let anyone see how much it broke her heart. When her childhood best friend died in a tragic car accident, she didn't let the pain stop her from carrying on like normal (because she knew Micah would have wanted her to be happy, and he would've never forgave himself if he knew that he held her back). The only time her façade ever wavered was when a terrible accident took her brothers, Robb and Rickon. And even now, when she sat in a scratchy chair in the ugly office of the shitty job she got in order to live as an independent woman, she refused to let her manager see her break after receiving news of her parents's deaths.

⠀⠀ Her face was blank, brain not processing the words that came out of her manager's mouth. All she could do was focus on her breathing as Sansa's news of tragedy circulated violently in her mind. Sansa had said that their parents were involved in a terrible accident, and due to the severity of their injuries, they didn't survive. Arya didn't want to believe Sansa. She just couldn't wrap her head around the idea of her parents—the two strongest people she had ever met—being killed by a measly accident.

⠀⠀"Miss Stark," Arya's eyes snapped up at the sound of her manager's voice. "If you need to take some time off, you may. It's very important to spend some time with family on times of crisis and tragedy, and we're here for you if you need anything."

⠀⠀ Arya simply nodded in gratitude and snatched her mobile off the desk. She took a deep, shaky breath before shrugging on her raincoat and shuffling out the doors of the dingy office. The rain falling harshly from the sky seemed rather fitting, considering everything that had happened. She was holding herself together by a string—a string of hope that somehow her parents were still alive and the whole thing was nothing more than just a sick joke. She knew she was a fool for being hopeful, especially in a cruel world where the best people were taken too soon, but it was the only thing that kept her from completely breaking.

⠀⠀ As she stepped out from under the entrance's covering, her dark hair was almost instantly soaked and sticking to her face. Her pain turned into annoyance within a mere second, and she found herself harshly wiping the stringy locks away. Her pale skin stung from the rough contact and tears pricked in her blue eyes. Arya was teetering on the edge of a breakdown, and she needed to get as far away from her work as possible before she tipped over the edge. Her shaky hands pulled out the keys to her grey Mini Cooper—the only thing she ever let her parents buy for her, though she fought against it until her father threatened to get her an even more expensive vehicle.

⠀⠀ After unlocking the car, she scrambled inside and turned on the engine. At that point, she was shivering and only cared about cranking up the heater (she knew the rain would probably—or rather, most definitely—damage the interior of her car, but she couldn't care less), all she wanted was to be with Sansa as soon as possible. The hot air blew through her vents, but did little to alleviate her shivering. The radio was playing some popular song that Arya vaguely recognized, and combining with the short breaths escaping her lips, it made some sort of strangely comforting beat.

⠀⠀ She had sat unmoving in the car for a few moments, relishing in the comfort of the heat and radio until the ringing of a FaceTime call interrupted the bizarre tranquility. Arya blinked away the tears in her eyes and took a deep breath before answering the call. She did bother to check the caller ID, it seemed rather redundant when she knew Sansa was the only person that ever FaceTimed her.

⠀⠀"Hi," Arya answered, turning down the radio's volume.

⠀⠀ Arya had the camera focused on her forehead while she fumbled with the heating controls, desperate to warm her car up more than it already was. Sansa's pretty face filled the screen, her blue eyes glossy and red-rimmed due to crying. Arya had yet to understand how Sansa could still look like a model even after she had been crying. Arya moved her phone so her face was in frame, sending Sansa an unconvincing smile. ⠀⠀ Rainwater was still trickling down her skin, but she couldn't care less. It was very obvious that it was raining outside, so Arya knew Sansa wouldn't ask if she had been crying. It wasn't that Arya didn't want her older sister to know she cried, because that definitely was not the case. Sansa was the only one Arya felt comfortable enough with to let her true emotions be expressed, but she didn't want Sansa to think she was crying when she wasn't.

⠀⠀"Hey," the low sound of Sansa's soft voice reverberated in Arya's skull, though it did little to nothing in regards of consolation. "I have some of our stuff packed, so we can head to the manor as soon as you get home."

⠀⠀"I just left work, Leslie gave me some time off." Arya sighed, trying to act strong. "I was thinking of stopping at Pret and Greggs on my way, do you want me to grab you anything."

⠀⠀ Sansa nodded, "can you just get me an Earl Grey tea and a pasty? I don't care what kind you get, I just want something that isn't ice cream and smoothies."

⠀⠀ Arya nodded and Sansa sent Arya a soft smile before ending the FaceTime. Arya tossed her phone onto the passenger seat, turning up the radio and flicking on the windshield wipers. She pulled down the visor mirror, pulling her stringy hair up into a bun and wiping at the mascara smudges under her eyes. With a huff, Arya threw her car into drive and began the short journey to the flat she shared with Sansa.

⠀⠀ Most people would think it to be rather annoying to grow up together and still live together, but the Stark sisters didn't think that was the case. Sure, they had their issues growing up, but that was fairly common for sisters so close in age. But after a few years, their relationship improved by a tenfold, and by the time they both went off to Uni, they were practically best friends. Arya couldn't be more grateful that her sister was her best friend.

⠀⠀ By the time Arya had arrived at hers and Sansa's flat, the rain had stopped. She stalked down the hall, a bag from the bakery hung from her arm and two cups of tea were placed in both hands. Not bothering to unlock the door, simply because she knew she'd drop everything if she tried to even pull her key out, she kicked at the door. Arya smiled at the sound of something falling and shoes thumping against the hardwood flooring. Her grin widened when the door flew opened and Sansa stood in the doorway. Her hair was a mess—and by mess, Arya meant that most of Sansa's hair had fallen out of the grey scrunchy—and a giant smudge of mascara sat on the bridge of her nose.

⠀⠀"You're a mess," Arya giggled, handing Sansa her cup of tea.

⠀⠀ Sansa smiled, "If I'm a mess, then what are you?"

⠀⠀"A disaster."

⠀⠀ The Stark girls look at each other with serious expressions, but they broke into a fit of laughter after a few seconds. Arya followed Sansa into the kitchen, setting the bag and her tea on the countertop. Sansa wiped the mascara off of her nose and watched as Arya pulled out a box and popped it open.

⠀⠀"A sausage, bean, and cheese bake, Lady Stark." Arya presented the food to Sansa as if she were a highborn lady during the medieval ages—though, they kind of were highborn ladies, if you took into account the fact that they were born into a wealthy family. Sansa rolled her eyes, but placed the pasty on her plate and thanked Arya.

⠀⠀ The two girls sat on the kitchen counter in silence, both scrolling through their phones aimlessly. It was a good thing the Starks weren't loud chewers, otherwise Sansa and Arya both would've gone insane. They didn't want to turn in the Telly for background noise, seeing as they didn't want to run up their cable and electrical bills right before leaving for the entirety of the summer.

⠀⠀ Arya finished her cheese and onion pasty within minutes and her tea was emptied shortly after. She hadn't realised how hungry she was, she had been so busy with work that the though of eating just slipped her mind. The girls grabbed their suitcases and slung backpacks before exiting their flat, locking the door behind them.

⠀⠀"Who's ready for a two hour road trip to Winterfell?"

* * *

 ⠀⠀ After a little over two hours of driving, Sansa and Arya arrived in at their childhood home in Winterfell. The rain had picked up again, only this time it was accompanied by thunder and lightning. Arya parked her car along the cobblestone driveway, trying to get as close to the house as possible.

⠀⠀"Looks like we're still gonna have to run for it, huh?" Sansa muttered, leaning forward to look out the windshield at the darkened sky.

⠀⠀"Good thing you have long legs and I played football up until 6th form." Arya retorted, turning off the engine and pulling her key from the ignition. "We can get the suitcases later, hopefully the rain will stop soon."

⠀⠀ Sansa nodded, "if not, we'll just have to get the biggest umbrella we can find"

⠀⠀ They stepped out of the car as the large white door swung open and a young man appeared in the doorway. Both girls look at each other, a mixture of shock and confusion on their faces.

⠀⠀"Is that—"

⠀⠀"Podrick."

⠀⠀ The young man—well, Podrick fucking Payne, really—smiled at them as they ran through the open doorway. The door wasn't even shut completely when Arya and Sansa pounced on the man. A soft grunt of surprise left Podrick's lips, but he laughed nonetheless. Arya—considering her height, or lack thereof—had her arms wrapped tightly around his torso, her face pressed into his grey jumper. Sansa—who was considerably taller—had her arms draped comfortably over Podrick's shoulder and her cheek resting on his shoulder.

⠀⠀"Wow, wasn't expecting this sort of greeting." Podrick chuckled, rubbing their backs.

⠀⠀"What, were you expecting me to kick your ass or something?" Arya grinned, softly punching him in the shoulder.

⠀⠀ Sansa gave Arya a look that reminded her of the ones her mother used to give her as a child. Her smile faltered for a split second, but she recovered. She had a hard time dealing with her emotions and didn't want either of them to think she was weak. Neither one noticed, thankfully. Podrick clapped his hands together and grinned widely.

⠀⠀"Well, shall I show you guys the changes?"

⠀⠀ Arya nearly forgot all about the whole reason they were back home at the mention of the recent renovations. Last time she had been there, which was well over a year ago, the idea of renovating the house again was just another thought that occasionally graced her parents's minds. The Starks were no strangers to renovations, they had the estate updated often. It was mainly because Catelyn wanted to keep up with all trends, and Ned being the type of husband that wanted to please his wife no matter how ridiculous, always agreed to the updates.

⠀⠀ They walked through the house, listening intently as Podrick pointed out everything that was changed in the most recent renovation. They had an all-glass conservatory added to the house, adjacent to the kitchen and dining room. (Arya made note to use that room as her at-home gym.) The cabinets in the kitchen were changed from a dark wood to a light grey, with silver handles replacing the bronze knobs.

⠀⠀ Arya didn't really pay attention to the minor changes, like the new glassware and cutlery. She noticed that the walls had been painted to fit a more neutral colour scheme and all the furniture had been replaced. The exterior looked like it belonged to a nobleman during the eighteenth century, but as soon as you walked through the door, the interior looked like it was designed by a millennial. Arya absolutely loved the house and how drastically the two parts differed.

⠀⠀"Catelyn had all of the bedrooms and bathrooms updated too," Podrick stated, catching Arya's attention. "You guys even have a rain shower now."

⠀⠀ Sansa and Arya gave each other a look, taking off in a sprint up the stairs. Podrick followed them, though he did so in calm walk. Arya—due to her many years playing football—was slightly faster than Sansa, and when she rounded the corner into the corridor that led to their rooms, she ran straight into a hard body. Arya tumbled, rather ungracefully, to the floor. Her damp hair fell over her face and she winced at the twinge of pain in her tailbone. Sansa snickered and received a harsh glare from the brunette.

⠀⠀ _I'll be feeling that in the morning_ , Arya thought to herself.

⠀⠀ Her face scrunched up in annoyance and she slowly rose to her feet, her hand on the part of her butt that took the brunt of the impact. "Fuckin' hell."

⠀⠀"Oh, I completely forgot." Podrick's voice sounded from behind Arya. "This is Gendry, the caretaker your parents hired for when they were out on business."

⠀⠀ Gendry had a cold expression on his face and he refused to meet Arya's eyes. Sansa smiled kindly at the young man, and while the expression she received was still cold, it was fat better than the one Arya had gotten. Arya took note of that and felt anger bubble in her chest. In that moment, Arya decided two things.

⠀⠀ One, Gendry was a right prick. And two, Arya definitely did not like him in the slightest.


End file.
